AMR CEO's Payout Questioned

3/28/2013 12:26PM

A bankruptcy judge said it would be “inappropriate” to approve a $20 million exit package for Tom Horton, the departing CEO of AMR, calling it his only “hangup” as he cleared the way for a merger with US Airways. Mike Spector reports. Photo: Getty Images.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... I ... the one thing ... he just ... hung out about to tell us why that ... yes he was fine emerging thanks to the rain cleared the way to a ... severance package twenty million dollars about half cash and stock ... he was hung up on it ... and it was because the U S trustee to some of the Justice Department had objected to the severance and said ... that was a violation of the bankruptcy code is a section of bankruptcy law that restricts retention bonuses and severance for insiders to companies ... and U S trustee said in an age and of the severance package into the merger green and American to try to get the new company and they were just basically trying to dodge this requirement in it ... than it did the judge Paz said he panicked if they cannot ... so what happens now it goes down the road to what point do they have to decide on a true riffic questions Ive judge was very un clear about that yesterday but essentially ... he said would be inappropriate to prove it today he suggested during the hearing that he might take it up later so what does that mean while the plan is going to go out to creditors for about this merger agreement and at some point will be a confirmation hearing in front of the Giants ... to basically what's the ... plan unless AmericanAirlines Mehta bankruptcy so ... on or before then it's possible that maybe the job will take a bath and might be some discussion of how can we get this severance package cave ... with added by doing the bankruptcy code by structuring it differently he didn't really object to the package itself but just the way ... that it was jammed in this merger agreement and possibly by ... violating this provision of the bankruptcy code ... at that Airlines bondholders are getting payback a fall in the country's existing shareholders three nap percent indicated that the combined airlines though ... that as a better deal a lot of these the US Airline Liang it seemed physically and Sven and I and ... and and writing basically on price and an airline bankruptcy and usually don't see that in any bankruptcy so that when the reasons there may be saying he deserves more I'm yet to come when you say and it's a really good job and you know this these recoveries are unbelievable so ... this one is deserved ... also he's really pushing the CEO spot to his friend and also rival Doug Parker US Airways has run the combined company ... Tom Arnold the chairman of the board but only for about a year and he's added there ... so you know ... maybe ... a nice little package to encourage them to relinquish the CEO spot ... so what if the thing about this this plan anything while he spoke to us yesterday intended as the eye and he didn't address it head on but said that he's focused on making the airline the best it can be and that this is up to the war and he doesn't really at this and then I somehow ... got a lot from him on that